An Offer You Can't Refuse: Difference between revisions

Sometimes a bad guy wants something done, something none of his own men are up to the task of doing for some reason (too well known, [[Surrounded by Idiots|too incompetent]], whatever), and he's not about to risk his own hide in order to do it. So what's a bad guy to do?

 

 

There are a number of reasons that the offer Can't Be Refused, of course:

''Actually'' the line was borrowed by Mario Puzo from the earlier novel ''[[Le Pere Goriot]]'' (1835), by Honoré de Balzac, when Vautrin tells Eugène that he is "making him an offer that he cannot refuse". Namely, that he [Vautrin] will make Eugène rich, profiting off the death of a man who he has never met. ''This'' concept, in turn, was Balzac's bringing-to-life of a theoretical concept by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, of "Rousseau's [[Values Dissonance|Chinaman]]" (the root of disinterested evil).

 

 

In real life, this was sometimes known as "Plata o Plomo?", literally, "Silver or Lead?" Your choice is between accepting a bribe or getting shot.

* Essentially the basis of Alucard's role as a [[Sociopathic Hero]] in ''[[Hellsing]]''. Although the audience isn't given all the details, it's revealed in a crucial flashback that much of the story of ''[[Dracula (novel)|Dracula]]'' really did happen, right up until Van Helsing had Dracula defeated and at his mercy. From here, it seems the heroes made Dracula an offer he couldn't refuse, and so the Hellsing organization's ultimate weapon was born.

* This is essentially how the contracts are made in ''[[My-HiME]]''. Set up a situation where the HiME-to be faces a lethal threat from an Orphan, then offer her the power to fight it along with a vaguely defined price to be paid in future. None of them refuse.

** Edward in episode 29 is forced to remain a state alchemist, even after he announces his resignation, due to the homunculi (mainly Bradley) threatening to harm Winry. This is used in a similar fashion against Mustang, who has the wellbeing of his whole team (Hawkeye most of all) resting on his willingness to comply, though he never threatens resignation.

*** In time this is subverted since Ed and Mustang are able to secretly plot against the homunculi while feigning cooperation. This troper has to tip her hat to the genius ways they're able to do this.

** In Battle City, Marik takes control of Tea and Joey so he can force Yugi into a duel for the Millennium Puzzle and his Slifer the Sky Dragon Card. Before that, he, via Bandit Keith, stole the puzzle and chained it to a duel arena, where Yugi could get it back if he won.

** The Big Five. Once, right after the Duelist Kingdom arc and again in the Noah arc.

* In the ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'' anime, {{spoiler|Eclaire}} gives one to {{spoiler|Tamaki}}: {{spoiler|"If you accept to marry me, I will gladly give you the chance to reunite with your [[Missing Mom]]"}}

 

==[[Comic Books]]==

* In ''[[Invincible]]'', Thragg the Viltrumite Regent—one of the most powerful beings in the universe and definitely the strongest Viltrumite—offers a cease-fire arrangement with Mark and Omni-man. Thragg and the other Viltrumites will settle down on Earth and breed with humans to produce more human-Viltrumite hybrids like Mark to repopulate the Viltrumite empire over thousands of years. In return, the Viltrumites will hold off on the whole "kill everyone on Earth" thing. Thragg makes it clear to Mark that there is no way he could stop Thragg from destroying the Earth if he refuses this deal. {{spoiler|Mark accepts}}.

 

* In the ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' fic ''[[My Immortal]]'', Voldemort threatens to kill Draco if Ebony does not kill Harry "Vampire" Potter.

** And later, "Darth Valer" threatens demands that Ebony [[Mind Screw|"kill him or I shall kill him anyway."]]

* In ''[[Aeon Entelechy Evangelion]]'' Gendo tells Shinji that by refusing to pilot the EVA he also drops the protection provided by the Ashcroft Foundation from the Intelligence services, especially their R&D staff who wish to cut him open to see what exactly makes him a viable EVA-pilot.

 

== [[Film]] ==

* The film ''[[30 Minutes or Less]]'' is about two idiots who want to rob a bank getting a very unlucky pizza delivery boy to do it for them, by strapping a bomb to his chest (effectively giving him a time limit as well).

* In the second ''[[Bad Boys]]'' movie, big bad Tapia convinces his business associate to sign over his business to him by having his bodyguard brought back to him chopped up in pieces in a drumcan, with the implied threat that he can either sign the paper or be next.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* In the Simon Scarrow novel ''The Eagle's Prophecy'' (one book in a series) the Imperial Secretary, Narcissus, gives the centurions Macro and Cato a job retrieving three ancient prophecy scrolls from pirates, not even bothering to phrase it as an offer, saying, "I won't insult your intelligence by offering you the job. You will do it, or you will die." Narcissus says that he doesn't need a reason to have them killed, but {{spoiler|in the previous book, Cato's cohort was sentenced to decimation (1/10 of the men, picked randomly, are killed; Cato was one of the ones selected to be killed), but the men that were chosen escaped, and Macro was implicated in the death of his cohort's commander.}}

 

* ''[[Burn Notice]]'': Carla pulls this with Michael, he also manipulates some of the villains into doing this to his cover ID at the time.

** This happens pretty much all the time in the series. Michael is often given this when he is to help the bad guy, or does this himself when he gets the bad guy to do what he wants.

* In the ninth season of ''[[Spooks]]'', {{spoiler|Lucas North}} is blackmailed by a man who threatens to reveal that {{spoiler|he isn't really Lucas North -- he stole another man's identity to escape justice after being involved in an embassy bombing}}.

* In ''[[Power Rangers Lost Galaxy]]'', a group of villains are auctioning off the Pink Ranger's quasar saber. Astronema {{spoiler|(actually, Karone)}} interrupts by making a [[Whammy Bid]], which she immediately raises to "all of you get to live".

 

== [[Music]] ==

* The Jon and Vangelis song/salute to the golden age of movies, "Friends of Mr. Cairo" has a mock scene from ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]'' that has the [[Peter Lorre]] imitator ask Sam Spade, "You going to make us an offer we can't refuse?" It actually works.

 

* Celes isn't a villainous character in ''[[Descendant of a Demon Lord]]'', but she did give bandits an ultimatum that can be summarized as follows: "Work for me as living soldiers or I'll kill you and use your bodies to make zombies."

 

* In ''[[The Bible]]'', Judges 14, when some Philistines find that they are unable to answer a riddle Samson has asked them, they threaten his wife in order to get the answer.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

** This trope happens every time an Inquisitor makes a "request". Unless you are ''very'' highly placed or connected, death is the ''best'' thing that's going to happen if you refuse.

 

** And earlier, Ayra's nephew is used to coerce her to fight Sigurd's army.

* This is the eventually-revealed backstory of ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]''. The [[Big Bad]]'s representative invades Hyrule and slaughters anybody who gets in his way en route to Princess Zelda. When he finally reaches her, he gives her an ultimatum she can't possibly fight—surrender the kingdom or watch your people be massacred. She's already seen that her people can't stand up to the power he's brought with him, and drops her rapier in a gesture of submission.

* Mr. Wong from John Woo's ''[[Stranglehold]]'' makes Tequila one of these offers as well. This time, the offer is to rescue his daughter Billie and her daughter Teko from the Golden Kane and the Zakarovs. Given Tequila's [[Star-Crossed Lovers|relationship with Billie]] and the fact that Teko is his daughter as well, this is an offer Tequila can't afford to pass up. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, Wong proves to be a ruthless son of a bitch and [[Offing the Offspring|has Billie murdered]] the minute the Zakarovs are history, both to prevent her from testifying against him and out of pure spite against Tequila, who he absolutely despises, setting off Tequila's [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]}}.

* Midway through the first ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'', you're given the option of joining the titular city's thieves guild. If you decide not to (whether because you're a good guy or just not interested), the guildmaster makes it perfectly clear that he runs on a "join or die" policy. Cue boss fight.

 

==[[Western Animation]]==